Dorado, marlin, and tuna in Loreto sportfishing waters;

Migrators close-in at San Carlos

Mexico Fishing News, May 21, 2007

LORETO FISHING REPORTS

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LORETO, MEXICO: Bill Erhardt of Loreto reported on 4 days of fishing aboard his boat Soledad, finding variable conditions, some good striped marlin action, and a total catch including released fish of: 4 striped marlin, 1 sailfish, 2 dorado, 3 football yellowfin tuna, and about 8 skipjack.

Loreto fishing area weather was good, with light winds and water temperatures just over 80 degrees in the afternoon sun. "The fishing ranged from really good to real slow with a lot of variety to keep it interesting," Erhardt said. Fishing at Isla Catalana on Sunday the previous weekend produced 6 striped marlin hits in about 4 hours, a sailfish, and a dorado, as other Loreto boats targeted and caught yellowtail. Erhardt fished the area again the following day, finding slower action, camping overnight on his boat at Isla San Jose, and trolling back to Loreto in the morning for just a couple of skipjack.

On Saturday, Erhardt fished in the Loreto Governor's Cup tournament and landed a 17-pound dorado that did not place in the competition, but he was rewarded instead with 3 football yellowfin tuna of 8 to 9 pounds out of the year's first tuna bite. "It was nice to see the yellowfin," Erhardt said. "Granted, they were only little footballs, but a month ago the dorado were only peanuts."

LORETO, MEXICO: Patty Zapata of the Hotel Oasis in Loreto reported very good weather during the week with warm air temperatures and a calm sea. Seven pangas fished out of the hotel at the end of the week, running about 40 miles east of town for a catch including released fish of: 6 dorado of 10 to 28 pounds, and 1 sailfish. Anglers fishing during the week with Loreto Capts. Isidro Mendoza, Martín Perpuli, Francisco Murillo, and Abel Davis Jr. included Norm Hartz, Pamela Mathew, George Kilka, Enos Maynard, Ken Boyd, Tom Barnett, and Robert Gage.

LORETO, MEXICO: For the previous week ending May 12, 2007, Zapata reported good fishing weather in Loreto waters. Fifteen pangas fished out of the hotel during the week for a catch including released fish of: 2 red snapper of 14 and 15 pounds, 3 sailfish, and 9 dorado averaging 20 pounds. Pangas fished about 15 miles east of Punta Lobos. Anglers fishing during the week included: Clarence Hamrick, Russ Church, Eric McMiller, Craig Cohen, Kurt Sexton, Louring Barlow, Amberleynn and Darcy Allison, Steve Eiseret, Jeremy Hobhs, and William Moseman.

LORETO, MEXICO: Don Bear of Loreto forwarded a fishing report from his neighbor Charlie Licha for 5 dorado of 5 to 35 pounds caught about 20 miles east of Punta Lobos on the north side of Isla Carmen, or about 40 miles from town. "Charlie fished with panguero Alvaro Murillo near a long line," Bear said. "They also saw many sailfish and a marlin, hooking and losing one of each after fights of about 20 minutes. Three dorado strikes were also lost." Licha and Murillo trolled jurelito baits bought from the carnaderos at the Loreto downtown marina. Loreto weather was mostly calm, with some small wind chop but no swell. Sargassum weed paddies were found close to shore but not outside Punta Lobos. Bottom fishing with cut squid at Punta Lobos produced a catch of: 1 small pargo, 2 piernas of about 6 pounds, and 4 tijeretas. "Charlie also said all of the pangueros are predicting a great dorado season this year," Bear said.

In other mainland Mexico and Baja fishing action this week:

ENSENADA FISHING REPORTS

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ENSENADA, MEXICO: Ivan Villarino of Vonny's Fleet reported good fishing weather for his Ensenada charter pangas at Punta Banda, with steady bottom fish limits and bonito showing up in good numbers. Jay Johnson fished on Monday with Capt. Beto on the Vonny I for 6 bonito plus limits on lingcod, red rockcod, and mixed bottom species. On Wednesday, Brian "Calico" Foley limited on bonito for the Vonny's Fleet fish smoker. On Friday, 3 Humboldt giant squid of 25 pounds were caught, and on Saturday, limits were brought in by Los Angeles anglers Kathy Burroughs, Cathy Landers, Gloria Vazquez, Teresa Stanman and Faye Burdick, who fished with Capts. Beto and Hector.

ENSENADA, MEXICO: Steve Ross of the boat Bad Dog at Marina Coral had a follow-up report on his outing the previous week that found good action for Humboldt giant squid. "With my meter on, I saw what I learned to be giant squid hovering at 300 feet on a 370-foot bottom," Ross said. "I brought out 4 rods set up for catching these animals and 4 Ahi jigs. I added sinkers to some of them. We changed over to braided lines for more control in the current. We lifted 26 of these 30 to 40-pound squid in 3 hours and drifted more than 3 miles during that time into the deep water. They were everywhere. Only a few were caught shallow under the boat and most were caught down deep."

PUERTO SANTO TOMAS FISHING REPORTS

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PUERTO SANTO TOMAS, MEXICO: Sam Saenz of Puerto Santo Tomas Resort on the Baja Pacific coast south of Ensenada said the last part of the week was "calm like a lagoon," with no wind and crystal clear fishing water. Bottom fishing was excellent as a group from Fresno loaded up on rockcods, whitefish, lingcod, and calico bass in about 3 hours, and other anglers also did well. Surface action continued slow with just a few isolated bonita caught. "One local gill netter landed 3 white seabass, but the yellowtail are not in the area," Saenz said. Several pangas also brought in Humboldt giant squid of 25 to 40 pounds.

PUERTO SANTO TOMAS, MEXICO: Earlier, Ken Jones of Long Beach reported on a 4-day trip to Puerto Santo Tomas Resort, finding plenty of wind and rough water, but good bottom fishing with Capt. Marcos. "Winds were a bit lower during the morning while heading out with Capt. Marcos, but by 9 a.m. or so there were whitecaps everywhere," Jones said. "But since the undertow was calm, the fish were biting and the usual assortment of rock fish, lingcod, whitefish and a small shark were the catch. The largest lingcod by far was caught on shore right in front of the resort. There was no surface action or diving birds of any kind. Baja road conditions were about the same, no new checkpoints and gas prices fantastic by our standards. It was a good time, with relaxing days and good bottom fishing."

ERENDIRA FISHING REPORTS

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ERENDIRA, MEXICO: Tere Castro of Castro's Camp reported 34 boats fishing at Erendira during the week, with water temperatures of 56 to 57 degrees, very good weather and sea conditions, and continued heavy counts of mixed bottom fish, rockcods, barracuda, and some bonita.

SAN QUINTIN FISHING REPORTS

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SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: Julio Meza of San Quintin reported "a nice flat day on the water" for his boat Santa Monica on Saturday, with no white seabass found, but a nice yellowtail caught on a 5-inch Fish Trap lure by angler Greg Donlon of Oxnard. "Fishing was slow for most of the boats but Capt. Canino from Pedro's Pangas landed 2 white seabass of 12 and 20 pounds on live bait," Meza said. San Quintin fishing area water was dark-colored at 54 degrees, with light currents. Meza also reported Capt. Jaime Garcia with some quality yellowtail and 1 white seabass on Friday. "That was the first white seabass of the season for San Quintin," Meza said.

BAJA COASTAL FISHING REPORTS

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BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO: Burt Wald of Laguna Niguel reported on a run to the south end of the Coronado Islands off the northern Baja Pacific coast on Saturday aboard Louie Chasanni's boat Savanna for a catch of barracuda plus 3 yellowtail of 15, 16, and 20.5 pounds. Water temperatures were at 61.9 degrees in about 80 feet of water. "They bit around 9 a.m., then the bite stopped," Wald said. "Nothing but barracuda the rest of the day."

MAGDALENA BAY FISHING REPORTS

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MAGDALENA BAY, MEXICO: Gary Graham of Baja On The Fly reported cabrilla and grouper biting in the Magdalena Bay mangrove esteros despite overcast skies and windy fishing conditions for most of the week. "The only boats venturing outside were the commercial shark fishermen," Graham said. "Even the San Carlos entrada action slowed down this week." Magdalena Bay fishing area weather was partly cloudy in the mid-80s, with water temperatures of 65 to 72 degrees.

CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING REPORTS

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CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported on 29 outings including 4 inshore fishing days by Gaviota Fleet and the Cabo charter boats Fish Cabo and Fish Cabo I, with a catch including released fish of: 17 striped marlin, 8 sierra, and 17 roosterfish. "The Cabo San Lucas fishing area has still not regained momentum from the full moon downturn of 2 weeks ago," Edwards said. "Many billfish are being seen, but getting them to bite has been the ultimate challenge. What continues to be notable is the lack of dorado and yellowfin tuna." Cabo San Lucas fishing area weather was mostly sunny in the low-90s, with cool water temperatures on the Pacific side, warming to as high as 79 degrees at Los Frailes on the Cortez side. Most boats fished the Cortez side from Punta Gorda to Destiladeras. "Live bait is critical and is only working occasionally on the drop-backs, tailers, and sleepers," Edwards said.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: George Landrum of Fly Hooker Sportfishing reported very different sea conditions on the Pacific and Cortez sides of the arch last week, with a 64-degree water temperature to the west and 80 degrees to the east. "Green water and rough conditions have made the Pacific an untouched region for most of the week," Landrum said. "If you headed due east from Cabo San Lucas you had temperatures consistently in the 74-degree range. Once you got past Punta Gorda it warmed to 80-plus degrees and became a deep blue for the most part."

For the previous week Landrum said, "We were seeing water temperatures on the Cortez side as high as an occasional 81 degrees close to shore and up around the Vinorama, Los Frailes, and East Cape areas. On the Pacific side the water was warming up as well but didn’t get much higher than 72 degrees. The inshore water has warmed up along with the offshore water so the yellowtail bite really tapered off. The sierra bite is still on, but not in the numbers we were seeing earlier. A 20-fish trip is pretty much over."

Grant Hartman of Baja Anglers commented on last week's striped marlin doldrums at the tip of Baja. "The striped marlin fishing has really slowed down," Hartman said. "The fish are here, but so are the Humboldt squid, and they are down deep. My bet is the fish are living deep and feeding on squid. As soon as that bait supply dwindles, they should be back on top."

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO:CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO:CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Ramon Druck of the Cabo San Lucas charter super panga Cheer's reported on 2 outings during the week, fishing with 4 anglers for a catch including released fish of: 31 sierra of 3 to 4 pounds, 2 triggerfish of 2 to 3 pounds, 1 firecracker yellowtail of 1.5 pounds, and 4 roosterfish of 3 to 4 pounds plus others lost. The Cheer's fished on the Sea of Cortez and Pacific sides in water temperatures of 70 to 71 degrees, good warm weather, and very calm conditions. Anglers fishing aboard the Cheer's during the week included John Johnson of Seattle, Wash., Jose Paredes of Acapulco, Rosendo Contreras, and Arlene Govea. "We don't have much tourist activity right now," Druck said.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Jim Dillon of Salvador's Sportfishing reported on 11 outings by the Cabo San Lucas charter boats El Budster, El Budster I, and El Budster II, with a catch including released fish of: 2 striped marlin, 15 sierra, 1 roosterfish of 15 pounds, and 3 grouper of 10 to 30 pounds.

SAN JOSE DEL CABO (LOS CABOS) FISHING REPORTS

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SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: Eric Brictson of Gordo Banks Pangas reported on 53 combined La Playita fleet pangas fishing off San Jose del Cabo, with a catch of: 2 striped marlin, 4 dorado, 166 mixed pargo species, 36 roosterfish, 92 sierra, 31 cabrilla, 13 pompano, 8 amberjack, 12 jack crevalle, 26 bonito, 28 surgeonfish, and 8 dog snapper. San Jose del Cabo fishing area weather was ideal in the mid-80s, with cool water temperatures of 62 degrees on the Pacific side of Cabo San Lucas, warming to 78 degrees at Los Frailes on the Cortez side, but with green color near shore. "It is only matter of time before the currents switch and the conditions on the fishing grounds closer to shore stabilize and attract the normal variety of surface game fish," Brictson said. Local charter pangas concentrated on near shore fishing for mixed species in 30 to 150 feet of water.

SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: Species fishing specialist John Snow of San Jose del Cabo reported on 7 surf fishing sessions and 4 outings with Capt. Pata on the panga Salome, with a total of 155 fish caught of 48 species including 2 new species, the spotfin scorpionfish, Scorpaena vaughani, and a Horn Shark, Heterodontus francisci. "Surf fishing had 'hot' action on spotfin porcupinefish and Mexican hogfish," Snow said. "Predawn is a far superior than later afternoon from a surf fishing productivity perspective."

EAST CAPE FISHING REPORTS

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EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Chris Moyers of East Cape Smoke House reported on 243 charter boats from combined fleets including Hotels Palmas de Cortez, Playa del Sol, Punta Colorada, Buena Vista Beach Resort, Rancho Leonero, and Martin Verdugo's Beach Resort, with 742 anglers and a catch including released fish of: 107 striped marlin, 96 dorado, and 429 yellowfin tuna. East Cape fishing area weather was mostly calm with light afternoon breezes at 90 degrees, with water temperatures of 72 to 80 degrees. "The overall fishing this week was down a bit," Moyers said. "Anglers are having to go out pretty far to get decent ahi numbers."

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: For the previous week ending May 10, 2007, Moyers reported on 171 East Cape charter boats, with 499 anglers and a catch including released fish of: 91 striped marlin, 63 dorado, 376 yellowfin tuna, 7 pargo, 10 wahoo, 2 roosterfish, and 2 mako shark. East Cape fishing area weather was in the low-80s, with water temperatures of 70 to 81 degrees. "The 10 wahoo were landed to the north off Punta Pescadero, Los Relices, and Punta Perico, and to the south off Punta Colorada and Punta Arena," Moyers said. "Everything from Rapalas, to ballyhoo and cedar plugs did the trick."

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Eddie Dalmau of Van Wormer Resorts reported on 197 East Cape charter fishing boats from Hotels Palmas de Cortez, Playa del Sol, and Punta Colorada, with a catch including released fish of: 111 striped marlin, 15 sailfish, 102 dorado, 870 yellowfin tuna, 93 roosterfish, 9 wahoo, 36 cabrilla, 52 pargo, 204 triggerfish, 13 mako shark, and 1 sierra. "The tuna bite is about 45 to 60 miles southeast of Cabo Pulmo, and the marlin bite is about 30 miles north of Punta Pescadero," Dalmau said. East Cape fishing area weather was at 90 degrees, with water temperatures of 76 to 78 degrees.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: For the previous week ending May 11, 2007, Dalmau reported on 162 boats, with a catch including released fish of: 96 striped marlin, 38 sailfish, 274 dorado, 498 yellowfin tuna, 56 roosterfish, 11 wahoo, 6 cabrilla, 57 pargo, 56 ladyfish, 12 mako shark, and 17 jack crevalle.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Jeff deBrown of The Reel Baja reported good fly fishing weather along East Cape beaches in the high-80s, with a fair number of shots for anglers targeting roosterfish and jack crevalle. "The fish seem to be spread out all over our beaches and are by no means concentrated," deBrown said. "Most of the fish are chasing mullet because the sardines in the area have disappeared. The bait pangas are finding none. Inshore fishing was difficult because of the lack of sardinas for chum." More fly fishing anglers were being seen on East Cape beaches. "I counted 14 fly fisherman fishing from the light house to Punta Colorada and another 7 from La Ribera north one day this week," deBrown said.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Werner Hradecky of San Diego reported a surprise wahoo over 100 pounds landed by his 24-foot boat Bad Company last week while fishing off Punta Pescadero with his father Alfred Hradecky. "When we got it back to Spa Buena Vista, the skippers there were pretty amazed at the size," Hradecky said. "None had seen one that size. I am not sure what the largest wahoo is out of East Cape. It took my dad 20 minutes to land and it took 2 gaffs to get the fish into the boat." The water temperature at Punta Pescadero was 80 degrees on May 13, 2007, the day the wahoo was caught. East Cape marlin fishing was slow. "The marlin did not want to take jigs. We hooked a couple on live bait," Hradecky said.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Gary Graham of Baja On The Fly reported on 2 beach fishing sessions by fly tackle anglers Matt Jones of Dallas, Tex., Ian Crabtree, and Lee Field, for some action on small roosterfish, a 35-pound roosterfish turning away just before the hit, and a couple of jack crevalle to 12 pounds landed. "They hit the beach hard and prowled mile after mile of hot sand," Graham said. "They had their share of chances, although fishing was not wide-open." Offshore, striped marlin and dorado were scattered, as yellowfin tuna provided most of the action. "The best catches were awarded to the boats that traveled the further distances, as far as 40 miles out," Graham said. East Cape fishing area weather was in the high-80s, with the water temperature at 70 to 81 degrees.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Richard Arneson of San Diego reported a pleasant stay but slow fishing during 3 outings on a super panga out of Rancho Leonero last week with fellow angler Ron Ambler, for a catch of: 3 pompano including African pompano, 1 pargo, and a few small roosterfish. "The fishing was very bad overall, but not for a lack of trying by our Capt. Guillermo," Arneson said. "There was only an occasional dorado or striper and no tuna. Stripers are being spotted, but they don't want to bite. Had we continued trolling instead of going south to a local near shore reef we probably would have only caught the roosters. The pompano and the pargo were caught on slow trolled mackerel and mullet. The reef we fished is about 25 feet deep and very rocky as we hooked several nice pargo that rocked us on 50-pound line. The weather was perfect and as always the food, accommodations, and atmosphere were outstanding at Rancho Leonero."

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Torrance Eddy of Buena Vista reported 8 boats returning to Hotel Palmas de Cortez on Saturday afternoon, with 5 boats flying marlin flags. During a 5-hour midday outing by his beach-launched aluminum boat on Thursday, Eddy caught a 30-inch skipjack hooked on a black Rebel Fastrac about 1 mile out and a 3-pound triggerfish on cut squid near Rancho Leonero. "My neighbor, Carlos, was thrilled to have the skipjack for his large extended family," Eddy said. "I caught it trolling black at 5 m.p.h. I do better with almost everything with black. I was also pulling a hoochie so that it skimmed every few seconds. All day, I had my radio on scan and few fish were being reported over the radio in English." East Cape inshore waters were calm in the morning, with light afternoon breezes at about 8 m.p.h. and occasional whitecaps.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Simon Cazaly of the Vista Sea Sport diving service at Buena Vista said few divers visited the East Cape area last week. A trip Sunday to Cerro Verde found 73-degree water at depth and visibility at about 35 feet, with lots of yellowtail surgeonfish and bat rays present. Dive trips to El Bajo and Los Morros had water temperatures down to 68 degrees and sea life sightings of moray eels, guitarfish, and bulls-eye rays.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: For the previous week, Greg George of Martin Verdugo's Beach Resort said, "I wish I could tell you fishing was great but it has slowed some." Some yellowfin tuna to 35 pounds were found outside. The Pescadory II had the top outing for the week, with a catch of: 8 dorado, 2 wahoo, and 2 tuna. The fleet also averaged about 1 or 2 mako shark per day.

LA PAZ FISHING REPORTS

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LA PAZ, MEXICO: Gerardo Hernandez of Tortuga Sportfishing reported La Paz weather in the 80s, but with cooler water temperatures no higher than 70 degrees found in his pangas' main fishing area on the Las Arenas side around Isla Cerralvo. "We fished our usual areas such as Punta Perico and at the island for just a few pargos," Hernandez said. "The beginning of the week was good, but we caught just a few pargo and other species on Thursday and Friday." Tortuga Sportfishing pangas working offshore at the buoys caught a few dorado to about 15 pounds. On Saturday, Michael Darren and his sons Huntley Brockie and Michael Darren Jr. fished with Tortuga Capts. Hugo Lucero and Jorge Lucero for good results on 3 wahoo to about 40 pounds.

LA PAZ, MEXICO: Jonathan Roldan of Tailhunter International reported a week of variety species fishing for La Paz boats including trophy sized leopard grouper, various pargos, larger roosterfish to 50 pounds, pompano, sierra, some yellowtail and dorado, and a few wahoo at the south end of Isla Cerralvo. "I counted 15 species of fish caught by our La Arenas fleet anglers," Roldan said. "It was a good week of fishing if you liked variety. The fish around Espiritu Santo were fewer, but bigger."

LA PAZ, MEXICO: Bruce Graham of St. George, Utah, reported on a 4-day outing to the Las Arenas side out of La Paz' Marina Costa Baja, fishing the Isla Cerralvo channel aboard Mark Williams' boat Windy Shell for a catch including a blue marlin lost on an albacore feather in 79-degree water and 1 striped marlin landed. "We saw several marlin jumping throughout the day," Graham said. "We were surprised to hook up on a blue and we had a large black jump just 200 yards away from the boat. There were other boats out in the morning hours but we were alone most of the rest of the day."

MULEGE FISHING REPORTS

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MULEGE, MEXICO: Diana Johnson of Mulege's Hotel Serenidad said, "Dorado are here!" Boats found dorado 22 miles out, in a water temperature of about 70 degrees. Marlin and sailfish were also reported mixed in with the dorado.

MULEGE, MEXICO: Bob Frambes of Mulege said Greg Davidson of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., and Annie Fisher found good dorado action on trolled orange feathers aboard their 16-foot aluminum boat about 8 miles off Punta Concepción. "Greg said they were everywhere," Frambes said. "Last night he said, 'When I was chumming a cut-up belly of a dorado there were 200 around the boat.' Other boats are getting them. There is a lot of secrecy because there is a tournament next week and no one wants to let their 'secret spots' out." Mulege fishing area waters were calm with water temperatures of 70 to 75 degrees.

SANTA ROSALIA FISHING REPORTS

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SANTA ROSALIA, MEXICO: Mike Kanzler of Isla San Marcos was busy preparing for his Yellowtail ShootOut fishing tournament this week and reported decent action during 3 outings at Islas San Marcos and Tortuga for a total catch of: 4 yellowtail of 25 to 36 pounds, 5 leopard grouper of 5 to 12 pounds, 2 barred pargo of 6 to 8 pounds, and 2 baqueta of 10 to 30 pounds. "And I was complaining the whole time," Kanzler said. "Everyone had a great time, slow fishing or not." Santa Rosalia fishing area weather was mostly calm in the mid-80s, with some morning fog and water temperatures very unstable at 64 to 75 degrees. "That makes it tough for a bite," Kanzler said. Fishing with Kanzler during the week were Danny Chiquete, Jerry Satterfield and Lee Smith of Parachute, Colo., and Jim Schultz and Joe Mullen of San Diego, Calif. About 25 boats and 60 to 70 anglers were expected for the Yellowtail ShootOut tournament.

BAHIA DE LOS ANGELES (L.A. BAY) FISHING REPORTS

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BAHIA DE LOS ANGELES, MEXICO: Ruben Daggett of Daggett's Camp at Bahia de los Angeles said yellowtail action was picking up for local anglers the last few weeks, including Brandon Wells and his group who fished out of Daggett's on their boat for good results on yellowtail to about 20 pounds at Isla Smith.

BAHIA DE LOS ANGELES, MEXICO: Brandon Wells reported on his group's trip to Daggett's Camp, fishing the Bahia de los Angeles area May 6-10, 2007, for fair action on local cabrilla and triggerfish, wide-open cabrilla on the east side of Isla Angel de la Guarda, and a good session for 8 yellowtail on birds along the west side of Isla Smith. At Isla Smith, Wells said, "After making bait with some bigger mackerel, we took off heading to the reef about 7 miles north of Smith Island. On the way we saw some birds working on the west side of Smith Island and we made a stop. We landed 8 yellows between the 4 of us. They would only eat the live bait and they were only up from 7:45 a.m. to about 9 a.m. We couldn't get any on the yo-yo jigs and they wouldn't bite anything heavier than 25-pound line." Water temperatures in the Bahia de los Angeles fishing area ranged from 64 to 67 degrees. Fishing with Wells were his father, Rod Wells, Ian Hockstad, and Mario Raya. Bahia de los Angeles area weather was at 90 degrees, with some days of wind. The road to the village from Baja's Highway Mex 1 was in excellent condition.

SAN FELIPE FISHING REPORTS

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SAN FELIPE, MEXICO: Tom Ward Jr. of The Longfin Tackle Store reported on 6-day Midriff Islands fishing trips by the Tony Reyes Fishing Tours panga motherships Jose Andres and Tony Reyes, returning to San Felipe on May 18, 2007, with a catch of:

Jose Andres, with 15 anglers: 108 yellowtail to 22 pounds, 3 grouper to 45 pounds, 141 cabrilla, 8 red snapper, 2 broomtail, 10 sheephead, limits of spotted bay bass, and 55 assorted and released fish.

Tony Reyes, with 27 anglers led by charter master Jerry LeCompte of Glendale, Ariz.: 57 yellowtail to 25 pounds, 414 cabrilla to 18 pounds, 172 spotted bay bass, 9 pargo to 20 pounds, 2 sheephead, 25 whitefish, 5 grouper to 60 pounds, 3 golden cabrilla released, 3 white seabass to 20 pounds, and 65 assorted and released fish.

"The boats fished Islas San Lorenzo, La Raza, and Angel de la Guarda, as well as Punta Final and Punta Remedios," Ward said. "They caught live bait at Gonzaga Bay and had good weather throughout the trip. The water temperature was 60 to 65 degrees. There are lots of yellowtail schools around San Lorenzo Island and they were biting jigs and trolled MirrOlures. The best colors of MirrOlures were pink and orange. Groupers were eating live bait very well with several lost to the rocks."

SAN FELIPE, MEXICO: Alex Velez of Baja Sportfishing and Diving reported on a 6-day fishing trip to the Midriff Islands by the panga mothership Andrea Lynn, returning to San Felipe on May 17, 2007, with 22 anglers and a catch of: 93 cabrilla, 3 white seabass, 1 grouper of 42 pounds, 1 black sea bass of 200 pounds, 9 pargo, 118 yellowtail, 60 Humboldt squid, and 250 assorted fish including sierra and whitefish. Midriff fishing area water temperatures averaged 61 to 66 degrees.

SAN FELIPE, MEXICO: Catalina Meders of San Felipe's Title Company Bookstore overlooking the bay reported Saturday morning weather sunny and perfect at 82 degrees. "There is just enough gentle breeze to cut the humidity," Meders said. "There are lots of people and dogs and horses on the beach at the moment since the tide is out." San Felipe was bracing for the annual Memorial Day flood of vacationers. "There will be noise and exhaust fumes and lots of fire works, but the vendors will do very well," Meders said. San Felipe's Baja Actor's Theatre Society was scheduled for several performances of the "adult" play, "A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking," at the old Rotary Club building, Casa de Amistad.

ROCKY POINT (PUERTO PENASCO) FISHING REPORTS

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ROCKY POINT, MEXICO: Ollie Peltier of Rocky Point reported on an overnight trip by Brent Moyer aboard his 28-foot boat, fishing 43 miles out for 2 pinto bass to 35 pounds plus a mix of goldspotted bass, sandbass, and red snapper, and fishing again the following day at the "16-180 reef" for a 50-pound grouper. Rocky Point offshore fishing waters were at 77 degrees. At the 43-mile reef, Peltier said, "Brent said the action was nonstop and the fish wore him out. He decided to spend the night and come back in to where we had fished on Thursday and my heavy swivel snap had been straightened out. Brent set his anchor where I had lost my fish and boated a nice grouper. He thinks my big one is still there."

ROCKY POINT, MEXICO: Mike Auditore of Phoenix reported on an outing from Rocky Point by his boat El Gato Blanco on May 14, 2007, making bait 13 miles out and running another hour-and-a-half for a catch of: 11 red snapper to 12 pounds, 65 goldspotted bass to 10 pounds, and 1 leopard grouper of 5 pounds. "The action was instant as soon as we hit the bottom. We also lost a couple of very large fish," Auditore said. "There are so many goldspotted bass down there it was difficult to catch anything else. Everybody took home a lot of filets." Rocky Point fishing area weather was windy with south swells to 4 feet in the morning, but flattening by the afternoon, with the water temperature at 70 degrees. Fishing with Auditore on El Gato Blanco were Patrick Privetera, Dennis Dermyer, and Robbit Corrtrell, all of Phoenix, Ariz., and Paul Douglass of Scottsdale, Ariz.

SAN CARLOS (SONORA) FISHING REPORTS

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SAN CARLOS, MEXICO: Fernando Almada of Catch-22 Sportfishing reported good, nearby action for dorado and striped marlin last week, with comfortable local fishing weather at 80 degrees, flat water for local boats, and water temperatures of 78 to 80 degrees. On Friday, the San Carlos charter boats Catch-22, Suerte, and Pez Vela had a catch including released fish of: 3 marlin, 15 dorado, and 1 sailfish. Capt. Abel on the Jon Jen Charters boat JonJen had dorado limits on fish of 30 to 40 pounds, and other boats reported dorado, marlin, and sailfish. "All boats out did well today," Almada said. The billfish were centered only about 6 to 12 miles out of San Carlos and the dorado were found about 22 miles out. "There are lots and lots of billfish slashing through bait balls. What a great sight! Sailfish were thick only 3 to 5 miles away!" Almada said.

SAN CARLOS, MEXICO: John Hilderbrand of Jon Jen Charters said, "San Carlos fishing is hot right now. Dorado are everywhere and the marlin and sailfish are all right out here in front, meaning 5 miles out, not our usual 25 miles." Dorado action included large bulls and cows, and marlin were released daily in water temperatures in the 80s. On one bite, Hilderbrand said, "I spotted a current line and things started to go crazy. We got a nice medium dorado and kept it on the line. Then it was as if we were in an aquarium with literally 200 to 300 dorado all circling us, big bulls where chasing the small peanuts. We caught and released and decided to call it a day. As we left they where still following us."

MAZATLAN FISHING REPORTS

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MAZATLAN, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported on 31 offshore Aries Fleet boats fishing out of Mazatlan's Marina El Cid, with a catch including released fish of: 11 striped marlin, 3 sailfish, 19 yellowfin tuna, and 6 dorado. Seven inshore super pangas had a catch of: 25 dorado, 14 pargo, 35 mojarra, and 59 triggerfish. "There was an influx of dorado toward the end of the week with fish showing up at the buoys," Edwards said. "However, offshore fishing has been slow to gain speed this season." Mazatlan fishing area weather was sunny at 90 degrees, with mostly calm seas and water temperatures of 78 to 79 degrees. Aries Fleet offshore boats fished a wide, scattered area about 22 to 26 miles out, and inshore boats fished mostly at the buoys.

PUERTO VALLARTA FISHING REPORTS

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PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO: Danny Quinonez of PV Marlin Sportfishing said the charter boat Lorena ran shorter 4 to 6-hour trips last week for jacks, dorado, pargo, and roosterfish around Bahia de Banderas. "Things have been pretty slow down here for all of the boats this year as far as trips go," Quinonez said. "There are plenty of fish out there, just not as many people to fish for them this year. We think it might have something to do with the new passport regulations or maybe just the economy." Puerto Vallarta fishing area weather was "beautiful," with water temperatures in the high-70s. Quinonez noted that PV Marlin is an official IGFA weigh station and has tag sticks available on the boat and at the marina tackle shop. "We are trying to get as many captains as we can to start tagging and releasing billfish," Quinonez said.

PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO: Danny Gomez of Dhamar Sportfishing reported Puerto Vallarta fishing area weather flat calm, with the water temperature at 79 to 81 degrees. The charter super panga Dhamar had 1 outing during the week, fishing with angler Manuel Gutierrez of Tijuana on Wednesday offshore and at Roca Corbeteña for a catch of: 7 triggerfish, 12 small grouper, and 1 amberjack of 15 pounds. "We looked for big fish all day, but the water got a little greener than we wanted," Gomez said.

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO FISHING REPORTS

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IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Ed Kunze, reporting for Baja On The Fly, said Ixtapa Zihuatanejo offshore fishing action was picking back up at the end of the week after a slump earlier. "Although the boats are only averaging about 1 sailfish a day, the blue water has moved in to the 12-mile mark," Kunze said. "This will definitely bring the fish closer. Yellowfin tuna of 22 to 25 pounds showed up at the 19-mile mark and are giving us a lot of action." Inshore action was knocked out by dirty water all along the coast, Kunze said, but some skipjack tuna, or chula, were hitting Rapalas about half-a-mile off the beach. Ixtapa fishing area weather was clear in the mid-80s, with the water temperature at 80 to 84 degrees.

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters said, "Our captains are reporting good schools of bait fish near shore. They have been using 3-ounce Megabaits to take a majority of the fish." Capt. Temo of the charter boat Secuestro de Amor and Capt. Adolofo of the Dos Hermanos I reported on a total of 5 inshore fishing days, with a catch of: 2 roosterfish, 15 sierra, more than 35 bonito, 12 skipjack tuna, 20 jack crevalle, and 8 pompano. Offshore boats averaged about 1 to 2 sailfish per outing. Ixtapa fishing area water temperatures were at 79 degrees inshore and 83 degrees offshore.

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Mike McFaddin of Bakersfield, Calif., reported on an outing with Zihuatanejo's Capt. Luis Maciel aboard the charter boat Gringo Loco for a catch including a 55-pound sailfish landed by his 6-year-old grandson Joey McFaddin and a roosterfish of about 35 pounds landed by grandson Jake McFaddin. Both species were first-ever catches for the 2 boys, grandpa McFaddin said.

CANCUN FISHING REPORTS

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CANCUN, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported on 22 outings by the El Cid Caribe sportfishing fleet at Puerto Morelos near Cancun, with a catch including released fish of: 2 white marlin, 1 sailfish, 27 dorado, 13 barracuda, 9 snapper, 2 wahoo, 1 tuna, and 1 king mackerel. "Cancun fishing has yet to rebound after the full moon and for no apparent reason," Edwards said. "Conditions are very good and things should be breaking loose any day now." Cancun fishing area weather was mostly cloudy at 90 degrees, with water temperatures even at 83 to 84 degrees.

MEXICO COASTAL FISHING REPORTS

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MEXICO: Sportfishing industry representatives in the state of Baja California Sur continued their protest last week of Mexico's newly promulgated Shark Norma 029, which had an effective date of May 15, 2007, and included several measures they considered detrimental to the fishery.

Conservation proponent Mike McGettigan of Seawatch.org distributed a statement saying, "This regulation, strongly supported by commercial fishing interests in Ensenada, Sinaloa, Sonora, Mexican Fisheries (CONAPESCA) and some Mexican and United States NGOs, does not restrict bycatch, allowing all 'incidental' bycatch to be kept. Under NOM-029 commercial boats less than 30 feet can come within 10 miles of shore with longlines. Commercial longline boats between 30 feet and 89 feet can fish as near as 15 miles from the shore in the Sea of Cortes, and within 20 miles of the west coast of the Baja. According to reliable sources in the fishing industry, there are approximately 4,200 boats that will be fishing from existing shark permits. Based on current fishing practices, this means there can be more than 1.5 million hooks in the Sea of Cortes on any one day. Longline boats will continue to rely on high levels of bycatch, billfish and dorado, that will deplete sport fisheries and impact tourism. The people of Baja California Sur are working together to stop these regulations from going into effect. They insist that the Norma must not become law, and that the public consulting process must be reinstated."

Organizations listed as endorsing the protest included: Sindicato De Propietarios De Embarcaciones De Pesca Deportiva De Los Cabos AC; Asociación Mexicana De Marinas Turísticas AC; Asociación Sudcaliforniana De Desarrolladores De Tiempo Compartido AC; Asociación De Hoteles De Los Cabos AC; Unión De Permisionarios De Carnada Viva De Cabo San Lucas; Camara Nacional De La industria De La Transformación De Los Cabos; Camara Nacional De Comercio De Los Cabos; Camara Nacional Restaurantera De Los Cabos; Union De Pescadores Rivereños De Los Cabos; Marina Fundadores; Sea Watch; and The Billfish Foundation.

Loreto Mexico Fishing Photo 1 Loreto Mexico Fishing Photo 2

MARLIN AT CATALANA--One of 3 marlin caught by Bill Erhardt of Loreto on Sunday, May 13, 2007, off Isla Catalana. Erhardt also caught and released a sailfish and a dorado and hooked 3 other marlin that achieved long distance releases in a day of nonstop action. At right, 3 football yellowfin tuna caught by Erhardt on Saturday while fishing in Loreto's Governor's Cup tournament. Other tournament participants also brought in small tuna during Loreto's first yellowfin bite of the year. PHOTO COURTESY OF BILL ERHARDT.

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LORETO SNAPPERS--Darcy and Amberleynn Allison fished out of Loreto's Hotel Oasis this month for action including this nice pair of snappers caught at Punta San Basilio north of San Bruno with the hotel's Capt. Martín Perpuli. PHOTO COURTESY OF PATTY ZAPATA.

Ensenada Mexico Fishing Photo 1

LADIES LIMITS--Anglers, from left, Kathy Burroughs, Cathy Landers, Gloria Vazquez, Teresa Stanman, and Fay Burdick, all of Los Angeles, fished at Ensenada on Vonny's Fleet pangas with Capts. Beto and Hector and scored limits on bonita and mixed bottom fish species. PHOTO COURTESY OF IVAN VILLARINO.

Ensenada Mexico Fishing Photo 2

ENSENADA SQUIRTERS--With a billy club-sized squid jig in hand, Steve Ross of the boat Bad Dog at Ensenada's Marina Coral shows off a few of the 26 Humboldt giant squid caught during an outing in 370-foot deep water earlier this month. PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVE ROSS.

San Quintin Mexico Fishing Photo 1

SAN QUINTIN ACTION--Some yellowtail were caught and the season's first white seabass showed up for anglers at San Quintin last week. Here with a nice 28-pound yellowtail caught Saturday is Greg Donlon of Oxnard, Calif., who fished on Julio Meza's boat Santa Monica. PHOTO COURTESY OF JULIO MEZA.

San Quintin Mexico Fishing Tournament Poster

SAN QUINTIN JULY TOURNAMENT--Official poster for the 4th Annual San Quintin Sportfishing Tournament on July 21, 2007, with $75,000 in prizes including a Triton boat. Entry fee is $50 plus optional side jackpots, with categories for tuna, white seabass, yellowtail, sandbass, and lingcod. Information: AIM Marine, 619-433-0031, events@aimmarine.com. POSTER COURTESY OF JULIO MEZA.

Baja Coastal Mexico Fishing Photo 1

CORONADO ISLANDS YELLOWTAIL--Burt Wald during an outing to the south end of the Coronado Islands on Saturday aboard Louie Chasanni's boat Savanna that produced barracuda and 3 yellowtail to 20.5 pounds. PHOTO COURTESY OF BURT WALD.

Cabo San Lucas Mexico Fishing Photo 1

INSHORE CABO FISHING--Rosendo Contreras and Arlene Govea fished last week on the Cabo San Lucas charter panga Cheer's and caught 14 of these sierra with Capt. Ramon Druck in about an hour-and-a-half. PHOTO COURTESY OF RAMON DRUCK.

San Jose del Cabo Mexico Fishing Photo 1

RARE AND SPOTTY--San Jose del Cabo species fishing specialist John Snow caught 2 new species last week, including this rare spotback scorpionfish, Scorpaena vaughani, about 16 inches long. Also new for Snow last week was a horn shark, Heterodontus francisci. PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN SNOW.

East Cape Mexico Fishing Photo 1

EAST CAPE SKINNY--Alfred Hradecky took 20 minutes to land this hefty wahoo while fishing near East Cape's Punta Pescadero aboard his son Werner Hradecky's boat Bad Company. PHOTO COURTESY OF WERNER HRADECKY.

East Cape Mexico Fishing Photo 2

LEONERO AFRICAN POMPANO--Richard Arneson's trip to Rancho Leonero at East Cape found slow offshore fishing conditions, but produced this nice African pompano hooked on a slow-trolled bait, plus some pargo big enough to reach the rocks on 50-pound line. At right, Ron Ambler fished with Arneson and scored on this roosterfish with Rancho Leonero's Capt. Guillermo. PHOTOS COURTESY OF RICHARD ARNESON.

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LA PAZ OFFSHORE ACTION--Mark Williams' 4-day cruise out of La Paz to fish the Isla Cerralvo area aboard his boat Windy Shell produced action on striped marlin, a blue marlin lost, and beautiful Baja skyscapes. PHOTOS COURTESY OF BRUCE GRAHAM.

La Paz Mexico Fishing Photo 4

LA PAZ TOUGHIE--Jill Stevens of Alpine, Calif., with a good-sized pargo mulatto or barred pargo taken with live bait on light tackle just a few yards off Las Arenas beach south of La Paz with Tailhunter International. "She thought she was hooked on the bottom when the hard-fighting fish started to shake its head and nearly pulled the rod from her hand," said Tailhunter's Jonathan Roldan. PHOTO COURTESY OF JONATHAN ROLDAN.

La Paz Mexico Fishing Photo 5

BAJA SOLITUDE--Tim O'Brien of the Bluefish Bed & Breakfast in Harwich Center, Mass., finds a peaceful Baja fishing spot looking out at La Paz' Isla Espiritu Santo. "That beach in particular is one of our favorite spots in all of Baja Sur," O'Brien said. PHOTO COURTESY OF TIM O'BRIEN.

La Paz Mexico Fishing Photo 6

LOS MUERTOS SKINNIES--Michael Darren, left, and sons Huntley Brockie and Michael Darren Jr. fished Saturday out of Ensenada de los Muertos south of La Paz on Tortuga Sportfishing pangas and got lucky with this nice trio of wahoo caught with Tortuga Capts. Hugo Lucero and Jorge Lucero. PHOTO COURTESY OF GERARDO HERNANDEZ.

Mulege Mexico Fishing Photo 1

DORADO AT MULEGE--Dorado arrived in the Mulege fishing area last week, just in time for the summer dorado tournament. Greg Davidson of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., hooked this good one off Punta Concepción while fishing with Annie Fisher on their 16-foot aluminum boat. PHOTO COURTESY OF BOB FRAMBES.

Santa Rosalia Mexico Fishing Photo 1

TORTUGA BAQUETA--Lee Smith of Parachute, Colo., hoists a big baqueta or gulf coney caught last week at Isla Tortuga off Santa Rosalia with Mike Kanzler of Isla San Marcos. At right, Jerry Satterfield was also aboard Kanzler's boat and scored his biggest fish to date, an Isla San Marcos yellowtail. PHOTOS COURTESY OF MIKE KANZLER.

Bahia de los Angeles Mexico Fishing Photo 1

L.A. BAY YELLOWTAIL--Local action for yellowtail picked up last 2 weeks for Bahia de los Angeles boats. Brandon Well's group did well out of Daggett's Camp when they spotted birds working just west of Isla Smith. PHOTO COURTESY OF RUBEN DAGGETT. At right, Ian Hockstad with a cabrilla caught while fishing with Wells' group. PHOTO COURTESY OF BRANDON WELLS.

Rocky Point Mexico Fishing Photo 1

ROCKY REEF ACTION--Brent Moyer overnighted out of Rocky Point on his 28-foot boat for action at the 43-mile reef and another spot closer in that included spotted cabrilla or pinto bass to 35 pounds, mixed bottom species, and a 50-pound grouper. PHOTO COURTESY OF OLLIE PELTIER.

Rocky Point Mexico Fishing Photo 2

HUACHINANGO FISHING--Mike Auditore's boat El Gato Blanco made a run out of Rocky Point for a great catch of 11 of these huachinango or true red snapper, plus 65 goldspotted bass with anglers, from left, Patrick Privetera, Paul Douglass, Dennis Dermyer, and Robbit Corrtrell. PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE AUDITORE.

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SUMMER-STYLE AT SAN CARLOS--Migrating dorado and striped marlin arrived in good numbers close to San Carlos on the central Mexican mainland side of the Sea of Cortez last week. This action found by San Carlos' Catch-22 Sportfishing fleet began as close as 6 miles out. PHOTOS COURTESY OF FERNANDO ALMADA.

San Carlos Mexico Fishing Photo 4

QUALITY SAN CARLOS DORADO--Ray Bucy of Phoenix, Ariz., got into the close-in dorado action last week at San Carlos, Sonora, with this 50-pound class bull landed aboard the Jon Jen Charters boat Too Much Fun. At right, Robert Preston with a nice female dorado also caught aboard the Too Much Fun. PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOHN HILDERBRAND.

Ixtapa Zihuatanejo Mexico Fishing Photo 1

IXTAPA PERSONAL FIRSTS--Six-year-old Joey McFaddin, left, and his brother Jake McFaddin fished with Ixtapa Zihuatanejo Capt. Luis Maciel on the charter panga Gringo Loco for their first-ever sailfish and roosterfish, during an outing with their grandfather Mike McFaddin. PHOTOS COURTESY OF MIKE MCFADDIN.

Cabo San Lucas Mexico Fishing Protest Photo 1

BAJA SUR PROTEST--Sportfishing boats gather in the Cabo San Lucas marina last week in protest of the Mexican federal government's passage of the infamous Shark Norma 029, containing several measures considered to be detrimental to the fishery. The long contested regulation was slated to go into effect on May 15, 2007. PHOTOS COURTESY OF MIKE MCGETTIGAN.

Baja Mexico Burro Photo 1

BAJA CHECKPOINT--A friendly Baja burro makes a close inspection, possibly for fresh carrots, during Ken Jones' drive off Highway Mex 1 into Puerto Santo Tomas south of Ensenada. PHOTO COURTESY OF KEN JONES.

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